Everyday Alexia Acosta gets to add value to Cal Poly. Through her role in Audit and Consulting Services she uses campuswide partnerships to help identify issues and inefficiencies, and then collaborates on solutions and implementations to solve them.
“We are not the usual auditors, we are trusted advisors,” she said.
A native of El Salvador, Acosta came to the U.S. in 2001. Following time at Diablo Valley College in the Bay Area, she transferred to Cal Poly where she graduated in 2006.
On the eve of her first anniversary as a staff member on campus she took a moment to reflect on her role, family life, advice and checking items off her bucket list.
What would you say you do here?
My team provides independent, objective assurance and consulting services designed to add value and improve Cal Poly’s operations.
I get to work on different projects that add value to the University. We are not the usual auditors that just issue a report, rather, my team focuses on partnering with our auditees to ensure we are helping them identify issues and inefficiencies, co-develop solutions, and ensure those solutions are implemented. My goal is to make sure that I can make others’ jobs easier and better, by addressing any risk or exposure that they might have in their day to day.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Work hard for my dreams; even when I don’t have all the advantages that others might have and even when things seem hard or impossible. It’s been my motto at all times in my life - ever since I moved to this country, as I found my way through education on my own, and throughout my career path. I will rarely accept the “it wasn’t meant to be”, nor do I believe in spending a lot of time making a “plan b”. Instead, I will focus my energy on working hard to make things happen for me and my family. And if I am ever overwhelmed by all that needs to get done, I will break things down into simpler and smaller steps until the impossible starts looking more possible.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Happy with a life that I have intentionally built for myself and my family.
What do you do when you are not at work?
I spend time with the family and my dogs. I have an Australian Shepherd and a Schnoodle. Noomi is my Schnoodle, she is a feisty 11-year-old that loves food. Zoe is my Aussie, and she is a 2-year-old that will always prefer cuddles over any treat 😊
Where would you rather be right now?
On vacation, discovering some place new 😊
Tell us something most people wouldn’t guess about you.
I was born and raised in El Salvador
What tops your bucket list?
Just did what was at the top of my bucket list, so I am re-organizing that list a little bit at the moment.
Oh yeah, what was that?
I went to Peru a couple of weeks ago and it was magic! For over 10 years I had my eyes set on a hotel there, where you sleep in these clear capsules that hang high on the side of a mountain. And this is located on your way to Machu Pichu, which is somewhere I have always wanted to go. For many years I had been fascinated with their culture, what is known of their history and the folklore you hear about. I had already done so much research that I thought I knew exactly what to expect… but I was so wrong! The moment I saw it for the first time, that top view that I had seen in pictures for over a decade, I was overcome with joy and awe. The experience was above and beyond any expectation I might have had. It was the trip of a lifetime 😊